The Raven-Haired Girl 'Cross the Isle
by RaspberryBeret
Summary: The day before Fili and his brother head off for the Shire, he goes hunting for his favorite supper - but ends up meeting a girl who inspired a song in his heart before he even saw her. One-shot fluff.


Fili was in the mood for pheasant the afternoon before he and his brother were to travel to a place called the Shire to meet the rest of their kin at the house of a halfling named Bilbo Baggins. Strangely, Fili always craved that particular bird when he was to embark on something new or exciting.

Kili was out getting some last-minute supplies for their journey, so Fili would be going it alone.

"Mum, I'm going hunting!" he called, grabbing his brother's bow and arrow-filled quiver from the wall.

His mother, Dis, emerged from her small bedroom, her forehead marked with worried wrinkles. "Oh, son, must you? I was hoping we could spend more time together before you leave tomorrow."

Fili smiled warmly at her. "I'm going to bring home the fattest pheasant you've ever seen, Mum, and we'll spend lots of time together cookin' and eatin' it tonight."

Dis reached out and squeezed her eldest son's hand before heading to the hearth to stoke the fire. Fili headed out the door.

As he made his way over rocky hills and into the thick green woods, a tune with words he'd never heard before popped in his head:

"There was a maid so lovely and fair/The sunrise envied her smile/Her perfume danced across the air/The raven-haired girl 'cross the isle….

I asked for her name, I asked for her hand/I begged her to stay for a while /But she broke my heart, and off she ran/the raven-haired girl 'cross the isle..."

Fili's catchy song carried him deep into the woods – much deeper, in fact, than he normally ventured. He wasn't afraid, but he was unfamiliar with his surroundings.

He stopped to gather his bearings among the pines and birch trees that practically enveloped him, when suddenly, he heard a rustling about ten meters away, the direction unclear.

He stealthily slipped an arrow from the quiver, positioned it on the bow, then aiming the weapon toward a cluster of bushes ahead.

"Who's there?" Fili shouted.

"I was about to ask you the same question!" called a voice – a female voice.

"I'm not standing down!" he warned.

"Neither am I!"

"Come out!"

"Lower your bow first."

"I just told you, I will not!"

"You have ten seconds to lower your bow, sir!"

"Or…WHAT?!" Fili was getting impatient, and a little nervous. He didn't like talking to someone he could not see.

"Or…I will stab you in the heart!"

Fili wasn't sure if this lass – wherever she was - would really hurt him or not, but he had too much too live for, and couldn't take the chance.

Fili threw down the bow. Shortly thereafter, a lithe figure seemed to float down from a mid-sized evergreen to his left, adjacent to the grouping of bushes. She landed on her boot-clad feet with an authoritative thud.

She was dressed in a simple green head-to-toe frock, the perfect camouflage. She had a small sword in her right hand. Her hair was black as midnight, a tousled length of waves, curls, and pine needles. Her dirt-flecked pale skin emanated an unusual glow.

She dropped her weapon.

Now, Fili had long heard stories of love at first sight, but he considered them to be like fairy tales; nice to listen to, very unlikely to find.

Until now.

Not wanting to seem rude by just staring at her, he bowed low.

"Fili, at your service, my lady," he said.

She hesitated, unsure of what to make of this dwarf and his impressive mane of blond and braided locks.

She followed his lead, and bowed. "Snow White."

Fili would not remember who made the next move toward the other, or who asked the next set of questions, or how many hours they spent talking.

Neither would recall who smiled first, or why they started walking together, or how they came upon an abandoned fire pit and got a blaze going. They say on nearby tree stumps, warming themselves and gazing at the flame reflected in the other's eyes.

Fili would later wonder what possessed him to share his little ditty with her, how in the world her head ended up on his shoulder, his arm draped protectively around her. Snow White's memory would become blurry about why she poured forth her harrowing story of betrayal and survival to a complete, though handsome, stranger.

And certainly neither would understand, let alone remember, why their lips met, softly and sorrowfully, as the fire died down.

Shadows began to fall hard and fast around them. It was getting late, and they each had to be on their way. Neither wanted to get the other wrapped up in their respective dangers. If this was indeed love, they cared enough to let go.

As they embraced one last time, Snow White sang his ditty in his ear, but changed the words:

"There was a lord with golden hair/He wooed a lost soul in the wood/His strength, with no other, could compare/The maid would follow, if she could…"

Fili kissed her before she could go on, more desperately and deeply this time. She pulled him close and tightly, wanting to feel every muscle in his chest against her.

Before they parted, he slipped her an extra dagger he'd carried on him, for added protection against the evil after her. They agreed not to look back as they walked away.

Walking back home in the near pitch-blackness, Fili wondered for half a moment if any of it was real. But that's all the time he spent doubting. It wasn't pheasant he was hungry for, it was her – a raven-haired girl he had never met before, who inspired a spontaneous song, who led him to the heart of the woods, the day before he was to embark on the journey of his life.

Maybe she represented love, maybe hope, maybe even foolishness. Fili didn't really ponder the meaning of it all. He just knew the glorious stories he'd heard were true.

His heart was so full that it was only when he reached his warm little house - his mother's fire crackling low and sure - that he realized he was empty-handed.


End file.
